a. Technical Field
Protective barriers for a sports arena.
b. Description of the Prior Art
Ice hockey is a fast and sometimes violent sport. Research has shown that almost 6 percent of all professional hockey players suffer a concussion every season. Other studies have indicated that an average high school hockey player has a risk of approximately 1 in 2000 of experiencing a concussion during each practice or game in which they participate. Most high school teams have 20 or more players with an approximate 10 week season. If the average team has a game or practice 5 times per week, then the average team would experience a concussion once every year. There has been extensive focus on concussions over the last several years, hockey players continue to face paralyzing spinal cord injuries. Although these injuries are far less common than concussions, the effects are both catastrophic and permanent. Finally, most of the concussions associated with high school hockey and all of the paralyzing accidents involve a player striking the boards. If the existing board systems can be replaced with a more forgiving board system, many of the concussions and virtually all of the paralyzing accidents can be eliminated.
Current technology focuses primarily upon the barrier as a means to keep the hockey puck and the players within the playing field. Hockey pucks are hit at high speed and would injure spectators if not contained. The top portion of the barrier must be a of a see-through material so that the front rows of spectators can see through the barrier to the playing surface and yet be protected by it.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,267, Burley, discloses a dasher board system for sports arenas fixed to the floor through the ice of a hockey rink using a spring to permit a slight deflection and return the board system to its original position. The entire structure deflects when impacted on the playing surface side. A spring held in place with a bolt threaded through the ice to the floor secured by nut returns the board system after deflection caused by impact. The least deflection is closest to the impact of a player sliding along the ice. The entire structure deflects meaning that the see through top portion moves the most whereas impacts in that area are more likely to be with players standing hitting their shoulders and upper bodies. Head first impacts, most likely to result in concussions or paralyzing injuries, are more likely to occur with fallen players sliding on the ice or impacting near the floor of the arena.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,217, Johnston, discloses a flexible board assembly with shock absorbing features similar in theory (but different in structure) to the Burley '267 patent. The entire structure is fixed to the floor and pivots when impacted about a point slightly above the floor (ice in a hockey rink). This disclosure uses a two-part structure for the lower portion of the dasher board system. The structure pivots about a point slightly above the floor and uses an internal spring set to return the deflected assembly to its original position. This disclosure has no deflection at the very bottom where it is attached to the floor of the arena. Players sliding along the ice have little or no deflection when they impact the dasher board at this location.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,461 B2, Frazier, discloses placing a spring behind the panel to absorb the impact and deflect board system slightly. This is essentially a shock absorber system. It does not allow for a more substantial deflection (and hence energy dissipation) of the board system at the bottom, where the danger of head injury is the greatest.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,250,818 Tremblay discloses energy brace apparatus that dissipates the force that is substantially different from the present invention.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0261867 A1, Gilkes, discloses a shock absorber system for the glass where a door allows access into the playing surface. This disclosure does not have the pivoting features of the present invention and does not absorb and dissipate energy close to or at the playing surface.
Additional dasher board or barriers for hockey rinks and similar sports stadiums are found in prior art. They primarily relate to the ease of construction or strength such as World Intellectual Property Organization Publication No. WO2008/152210 A1 which discloses a board structure for ice hockey rink and contains references to several United States patents. The primary focus of this disclosure is to make it easier to move and reassemble the ice hockey rink board structure.